The Symphonia Princess
by NewWings
Summary: When White Symphonia, heir to the kingdom Unova, went out on her journey, she thought all she had to do was learn more about Unova. She was in for a bit of a surprise. As if keeping her true identity a secret isn't difficult enough, White just HAS to fall in love with the one person she can never, ever tell. Just her luck. FerrisWheelShipping.
1. The Journey Begins

**I've been meaning to write this story for some time, and my rivalry with CianaTheRabbit (who I shall now refer to as Usa-chan so that I don't have to type as much) gave me a good opportunity to begin this story.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, then wouldn't FerrisWheelShipping be cannon?**

* * *

"White." White Symphonia looked up at the queen.

"Yes, mother?" It was probably best to be a little cautious until she knew what this was about.

"You are going on your pokemon journey today. Are you sure you want to wear _that_?" White looked down at her clothes. Her white tank top and black vest were a bit on the simple side, but suited her well. The cause of her mother's distaste was most likely the shorts. White had picked these shorts for two reasons. First, because she just really liked these shorts. Second, because she knew she would never have a better opportunity to wear them because her mother would burn them as soon as she got the chance.

"Didn't you say that I could wear _whatever_ I wanted?" White looked over at her mother. She groaned.

"I assumed that you would at least have decent taste in clothes like your _sister_." White winced. She supposed she had started this argument, but did her mother really have to bring up her sister? Her mother continued, "I just supposed you had some _sense_."

White had much more sense than most people, thank you very much, but her sense just didn't apply to fashion.

"I didn't even know stuff like that was even made in my queendom, but-" White cut her mother off to avoid the lecture before it got into full swing.

"Before you launch into your rant about the bad taste of your daughter, remember that you called me for a reason OTHER than ranting about clothes." That seemed to distract her. Or rather, get her to focus. White enjoyed looking at things from different perspectives. It always amazed her that while the truth always remained the same, it could be interpreted differently when looked through a different angle.

"Yes, of course. I wished to discuss with you the true purpose of your journey." This caught White's attention. True purpose? Was there anything beyond learning about Unova at stake here?

"When you are out on your journey, you are not White Symphonia, but one of the common people. While you are out on your journey, you can fall in love without worrying about whether or not he sees you or the throne." White rolled her eyes a little. Of course the true reason would be something silly like love. Surely her mother would have realized by now that she had made the decision not to care about anyone other than her pokemon four years ago. Maybe she was just naive. Her mother took one look at her and sighed.

"You've always put your head above your heart. Maybe there's nothing that I can say or do to change that, but please, when the time comes, follow your heart." White's mother was obviously finished speaking. White left the room and started towards Nuvema Town, the town closest to the castle, to begin the first step of her journey.

* * *

"Boy." N looked up at his father in surprise.

"Yes, father?" It was usually best around Ghetsis to make sure you know where the conversation was going. Not that it was ever easy to figure out.

"Go to Accumula Town to help set up the gathering. After that, you are going _undercover_ as a pokemon trainer, defeating the evil and corrupt gym leaders and defeating the vain Elite Four. Once you have defeated the Elite Four and Champion, our plan shall be set into motion and that will be the last act of pokemon brutality in Unova. We will at least attempt to conceal the fact that you are King of Team Plasma. But try to find a queen, in anycase. Anthea and Concordia have fed you some misconceptions that you should be informed about." Would Anthea and Concordia ever lie to N? N was fairly sure they wouldn't. They simply had different ideals than Ghetsis, who they saw as bitter and cynical, while Ghetsis saw them as hopelessly naive and romantic.

"This emotion that they call 'love' is a lie. It doesn't exist. It is simply a fool's delusion. Making decisions with your heart is downright idiotic. Hearts do not have intelligence and should play no role in decision making. That's what brains are for. In your travels, at least try to use it. Don't over strain yourself though. You might break it, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Ghetsis growled menacingly at N. N quickly nodded his head to signify that no, he did not want to break his brain and scurried off to prepare the Plasma Gathering

* * *

**Alright, first chapter complete. I will update regularly, probably once a week on Fridays.**

**On a side note, anyone can join in on my little competition/rivalry with Usa-chan. If you want to join, look on my profile for the rules.**

**For the love of pokemon, review!**


	2. Juniper Pokemon Lab

White stood in front of the door to Juniper Pokemon Labs nervously. Behind her she heard a girl about her age arguing with her father. Her friends had joined in the argument on the girl's side. The girl had pale hair and looked rather ditzy. Her friend that was arguing the hardest for her sake had dark hair and glasses. She couldn't see the other boy very well as the girl's father was in her line of sight.

White would have liked to stay and watch but Juniper's Lab was calling to her. White took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

"Princess White! I'm so sorry! I meant to clean up the lab before you got here but I lost track of time and here you are now!" White smiled kindly at the man. He looked so upset about the state of the lab. White surveyed the room. It was cluttered, sure, but it made the lab have a warm and friendly feel to it.

"You did not have to go so far for me. The lab looks great the way it is. Please don't call me Princess White while I'm traveling. It would attract way too much attention. Call me Touko." The man nodded, looking relieved.

"Well then, _Touko_. I suppose you would like to see the other Professor Juniper now." There are TWO of them?

"Are there multiple Junipers here?" The man grinned up at White.

"Yes. I'm Prof. Cedric Juniper, father of Prof. Aurea Juniper. She's the Pokedex expert here. Ah, here she is." Cedric nodded.

"Hello, Professor." She turned to meet White's steady gaze.

"White, you're right on time. The others are a bit late, so you'll have to wait." White looked up at Prof. Juniper innocently.

"I'm not White Symphonia while on my journey. I'm Touko White, a girl who lives in the countryside near Nuvema and is seeing the rest of the world for the first time." Prof. Juniper caught on quickly.

"So Touko, do you need me to give you a starter or did you find a pokemon out in the country that you'd like as a partner?" White held up two pokeballs in response.

"Would you like to nickname them?" White shook her head.

"They already have nicknames." Just then, the girl, glasses boy, and the other guy came in. White gasped when she saw him. He looked like an older version of _him_, if that was possible. He was dead! He died eight years ago. The other boy couldn't possibly be _him_!

"Is there a problem, Touko? You look like you've seen a ghost." White turned to the professor.

"I have. What's that boy's name?" White pointed at the doppelganger, causing him to speak up.

"It's Touya. Touya Black. And I'm not a ghost. I'd probably notice if I started walking through walls. Who are you to call me dead?" White examined Touya closely. He looked a lot like Black, but he was most definitely not him. His eyes were too dark to be blue. And to top it all off, White _saw_ Black die.

"I'm Touko White and you look a lot like my dead brother. His eyes were a different color than yours though. His were electric blue." That quieted him. I turned to the other two.

"I'm Touko, as you have most likely gathered. I have two questions for you. What are your names?" The girl spoke up first.

"I'm Bianca! Nice to meet you!" She grinned goofily.

"Cheren. What's the second question?" White decided to be blunt.

"Are you two going out?" Cheren and Bianca blushed, but neither of them tried to deny anything. _So they both like each other, but both are too shy to admit it to the other because they fear their feelings will be unrequited even though they are in fact, requited. How stupid._

Professor Juniper then launched into a boring speech about Pokemon and the Pokedex or something like that. White pretended to listen, but she wasn't really paying attention. She already knew this stuff.

Touya looked over at Touko. She appeared to be just as bored as he was. Finally, Prof. Juniper handed out the Pokedexes. They all had the same design, but were different colors. His was black and red, Touko's was black and white, Bianca's was white and orange, and Cheren's was white and blue.

"Hey Touko, wanna battle?" Touya had already battled Bianca and Cheren and won both battles. He wanted to see if he could extend his winning streak to three.

"Sure, but let's do it outside. I don't want to make a mess." Touya remembered what happened to his room and nodded in agreement. He didn't want to turn the lab into the disaster zone that his room now was. Touya and Touko walked outside. They both reached for their Pokeballs.

"GO! Oshawott!"

"Ciana! Let's do this!"

The Pokeballs opened with a flash of light and the battle began.

* * *

**Ciana's nickname is a tribute to Usa-chan, although she might not read this. What Pokemon is Ciana? What is White's other Pokemon? Review and guess!**


	3. Freedom

"Ciana! Let's do this!"

Ciana's pokeball opened in a flash of light, revealing a cyan blue sphere that levitated slightly above the ground.

"Soloooo!" Weren't Solosis generally green? When Touya voiced his concern, Touko laughed and waved the question off.

"She's _cyan_, so I named her _Ciana_. But I'm currently colorblind, so color doesn't matter as much as it used to. Such a shame. I used to have a really good sense of color. Psywave!" Touya cursed himself for being distracted that easily. Oshawott looked like he'd been taken by surprise and had taken a good bit of damage.

"Psywave again!" Touya wouldn't let her win that easily.

"Tackle!" Both pokemon had taken damage, but Oshawott looked worse for wear. Psywave didn't do as much damage as it had last time, but next time it hit, it would be game over for Oshawott.

"I give up. You win. If the battle continues, you'll win, so I'm cutting my losses here because I don't want Oshawott to get hurt." Touko nodded at his explanation.

"It seems that we both think about things rationally. Rivals?" Touya and Touko both start grinning.

"I guess I have three rivals now. I'll have to train extra hard to beat all three of you."

"You can beat Cheren and Bianca all you want, but I doubt you'll beat me." Touko started walking off towards Route 1.

* * *

White was enjoying her journey so far. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that she just won her first pokemon battle easily and found a rival that thinks as rationally as she does. Cheren, Bianca, and Touya appeared to have some sort of catching contest. White already had multiple pokemon, so she wasn't really interested. Route 1 was fairly short, so she managed to reach Accumula in no time.

Cheren, Bianca, and Touya met up with her at the city entrance and compared catches. Apparently they caught one pokemon each.

"How many pokemon do you have, Touko?" White held up Ciana's and Zeke's pokeballs.

"So it's a four way tie!" Bianca burst in excitedly.

"I'm going to the pokemon center, but I'll meet all of you at that cafe over there, okay?" Bianca went off to the pokemon center, while everyone else went to investigate the large event that seemed to be happening. A voice boomed out over the speakers.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation.I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our "partners" at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying? Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."

The speech seemed logical and well presented, but something seemed off about it that White couldn't quite put her finger on. All around her people were releasing their pokemon and pushing them away. That was what irked her. Even though the speech was about liberation, the pokemon had no say in the matter. White clambered up to the stage to give everyone a piece of her mind.

"Wait! Before you release your pokemon, listen to what I have to say!" The crowd paused momentarily, interested in what she was trying to say.

"If pokemon should be thought of as equals, let us extend that thought to not just equals, but friends. Our friends are always there for us, and we are there for them. Why are you abandoning your friends? Do you think that your bond of friendship does not apply since you are of different species, and therefore unequal? Pokemon are intelligent beings. To them, we might be liberating them. Or we could be shoving them away, abandoning them to the wilderness. Could any of you do that to them? Could any of you abandon a baby lillipup in the middle of the woods because you feel it deserves freedom? If you truly wish to liberate your pokemon, make sure you do it with their consent." White finished her speech and walked off the stage. The crowd was swayed by her speech. This time, they were asking their pokemon if they wanted to be released or not. Most chose to stay, however a few chose to leave. White took note of this. Some, but not all or even most, pokemon were unhappy with humans.

Cheren and Touya complimented her on a speech well done. White tried to tell them that she just randomly made the speech up, but instead of humbling them, they began praising her even more. Then Touya made a comment that chilled her to the bone.

"It was the way you delivered it that really stood out in my mind. You had the poise and self confidence of a queen. Well maybe not quite queen level, but a princess definitely." Did he know her secret? Had he guessed? No, it was just a comment that just happened to hit close to the truth.

Behind White a voice spoke.

"You may have had the confidence of a princess, but your speech had the intelligence of a tree." White spun around to see who had said that.

She was facing a man who looked to be nineteen, about a year older than her. If she could see in color, she would have guessed that his eyes were a stormy blue-gray color. He had ridiculously fluffy looking hair barely contained in a loose ponytail. White had absolutely no idea what color it was. For all she knew, it could be something absurd like green.

It was his aura that really got White's attention. It was tense and electric like a thunderstorm, but it was free and unrestrained. It was the exact opposite of what White was, in her opinion. She would probably never be as free as this man was, and that saddened her. She was trapped in the role of heir to the Symphonia Throne, while he could be anything, become anything. It wasn't fair.

"Your pokemon... Just now it was saying..." The man seemed startled. _Did he know?_

* * *

**Now, let's see who can guess White's other pokemon. They are both level 5 and nobody has guessed correctly yet btw. Let's see who can guess it first in the reviews!**


	4. The Girl

N watched his father's speech enviously. He longed to be the one up there, declaring his ideals to the crowd, but he knew that it was imperitive that he wait until the time was right. Ghetsis finished the speech and the crowd seemed affected by his words. Then a girl about his age clambered up onto the stage. He saw the two pokeballs at her belt and noted with disgust that she was a pokemon trainer. To N, the whole idea of having pokemon fight each other for sport was cruel and barbaric.

The girl was strange, that was for sure. Her clothes were trashy, and yet she acted calm and authoritative. Her hair was wrangled into a ponytail, but it appeared that she didn't know how to tie one properly because a few strands had slipped out. She held a strange aura about her as well. It was as though she had bottled up a raging fire inside of her. She was obviously angry by what Ghetsis had said, but she had internalized all that anger and added it into her own inner turmoil and did not allow her emotions to get the better of her, as N's often did. He was slightly jealous of her restraint.

"Wait! Before you release your pokemon, listen to what I have to say!" Her voice resounded through the crowd with an assertiveness that made them stop what they were doing and look up at the girl. The crowd was freeing their pokemon, but had stopped. N wanted to scream in frustration. How dare she interfere with Team Plasma! Didn't she know that she was undermining all of his hard work? Her words would only cause more harm to all of the abused pokemon out there and N couldn't bear the thought of it.

"If pokemon should be thought of as equals, let us extend that thought to not just equals, but friends. Our friends are always there for us, and we are there for them. Why are you abandoning your friends? Do you think that your bond of friendship does not apply since you are of different species, and therefore unequal? Pokemon are intelligent beings. To them, we might be liberating them. Or we could be shoving them away, abandoning them to the wilderness. Could any of you do that to them? Could any of you abandon a baby lillipup in the middle of the woods because you feel it deserves freedom? If you truly wish to liberate your pokemon, make sure you do it with their consent." Well, she _did_ have a point. N had also met pokemon that had been abandoned by their trainers for no real reason. The pokemon had usually assumed that it was because they were weak, but N was beginning to wonder if perhaps the trainers thought their pokemon were being 'liberated.' N shoved that thought aside. He would only worry about that _after_ all pokemon had been liberated. If he worried this early on, it would only undermine his ideal.

N watched as the girl exited the stage and walked towards her friends. They looked slightly awed. Oh sure, Ghetsis could speak, and this random girl could speak, but of course N just _had_ to wait for an indefinite period of time before he could have his turn speaking. N turned to watch the crowd. Pokemon were still being released, but not as many as N would have liked. This was the final straw. He stalked up to the girl and heard a tiny snippet of conversation.

"It was the way you delivered it that really stood out in my mind. You had the poise and self confidence of a queen. Well maybe not quite queen level, but a princess definitely." The girl tensed and both of her pokemon were howling with laughter for some strange reason. N had to admit she acted regal like a princess would, even if she didn't quite look the part. Before N could stop himself, a biting comment had escaped from his lips.

"You may have had the confidence of a princess, but your speech had the intelligence of a tree." She spun around and studied N. Her deep blue gaze seemed to penetrate through to his very being and while she scrutinized him, it felt like she burned him with every second of her gaze.

N's remark had cut short her pokemon's laughter, replacing it with a tense silence. Then they burst into a heated arguement.

**I say that we get out of these pokeballs and gang up on that filthy human and slit his throat.** N realized with a start that by 'filthy' human, he meant N. _Oh don't be ridiculous. If she knew we were planning that, she would never allow it._ **That's a big _if_, Ciana. But she doesn't know what we're planning, and you'd better not tell her through that psychic link of yours! **_I wouldn't do that because I know for a fact that you're all bark and no bite. You might want to be careful. You never know who may be listening in on our conversation._ **Yes, I have no bite. That wouldn't cause enough harm in my book. Why bite when you can slash? And who knows where the person you are biting has been? I don't trust anyone except you and _Touko_, do you think I'm stupid? **_Do you really want me to answer that?_

N looked at the girl, startled.

"Your pokemon... Just now, it was saying..." The girl regarded him nervously, as though she was afraid that her pokemon had let something slip. N had no idea what this girl's secret was, but he was getting more intrigued by the second. One of the girl's friends spoke up. He wore glasses and his hair stuck up funny.

"Slow down, you talk too fast. And what's this about pokemon... talking? That's an odd thing to say." The girl admonished him.

"Cheren, have you ever heard the saying 'the truth is stranger than fiction?' What he said may be odd, but that doesn't mean it's not true. Is it true?" She directed the question sharply at N.

"Yes, they're talking." N realized that neither the girl, boy with glasses, or unusually quiet boy could talk to pokemon.

"Oh. Then you three can't hear it either... How sad. My name is N." The two boys looked somewhat perplexed by this. After all, who uses only a single letter as their name? But the girl seemed to accept the fact that either N did not like his full name or was under an alias and didn't make any remark about his hair or name. The boys were staring at N's hair like he was some sort of oddity or zoo creature. The girl's eyes remained focused on his face. N still didn't like the girl, but he liked her a bit more than he had a couple of minutes ago.

"My name is Touko, and this is Cheren and Touya." Touko. It literally meant fighter, and what were trainers if not fighters? N mused bitterly to himself while the boy- Cheren- spoke up.

"We were asked to complete the Pokedex, and we just left on our journey. My main goal is to become the Champion, though." Cheren spoke haughtily, and it seemed like the so-called 'Pokedex prestige' had gotten to him early on. Pokedex holders had a reputation for being strong and usually ended out as Champions, but plenty of Champions had not been Pokedex holders. Just because you had a Pokedex didn't mean that you had a free pass to the Elite Four.

"The Pokedex, eh? So... You're going to confine many, many Pokémon in pokeballs for that, then. I'm a trainer, too, but I can't help wondering... Are pokemon really happy that way?" N couldn't keep the contempt out of his voice. The whole idea of catching pokemon just to catch them seemed stupid to him. He _hated_ all catching contests and the like.

"Well, Touko, is it? Let me hear your pokemon's voice again!" Touko grinned when she realized N's indirect way of challenging her to a battle.

"Okay, but Ciana's a bit tired so I'll use Zeke against you. He hasn't battled yet." N nodded. Zeke, he presumed, seemed a bit violent, but N wasn't sure whether it was due to species or personality. Hopefully not both.

"Come on out, Purrloin!"

"Zeke! Let's do this!"

* * *

**I dropped a couple of hints this time around, so let's see who can guess what Zeke is by next week. You won't be in the dark like you were with Ciana. Put your guesses in your reviews!**


	5. Breakdown

**And here it is! The weekly update of The Symphonia Princess! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Zeke! Let's do this!" The pokeball opened, revealing a shiny pawniard. All respect N had for Touko vanished.

"How dare you choose a partner only for their rarity. Does Zeke even mean anything to you or do you just only care about his coloring?" Touko looked hurt by this and N regretted saying that as soon as it came out of his mouth. Zeke began to yell at N indignantly.

**I will slice you into tiny pieces for even insinuating that my princess doesn't care about me. If you dare cause any harm to her again, I will murder you and destroy the body to the degree that nobody can even identify you. Consider yourself warned, _human_.**

"He's a piece of work," N mused to himself. N hadn't even realized he had spoken out loud until Touko answered him.

"Don't be too hard on Zeke. He used to be my brother's and ever since he died, Zeke became overprotective of me. I don't care whether or not Zeke's shiny. It doesn't mean a thing to either of us. So do you still want to battle?" Touko grinned mischeviously. N decided to answer by calling out to purrloin.

"Purrloin! Growl!" Purrloin nodded and proceeded to growl at Zeke. Zeke looked like he was affected by this, but he then defied all odds by standing up a bit straighter and looked like his attack had _risen_, not _lowered_. Touko's grin grew a little wider.

"Confused? Zeke here is just _defying_ all odds, don't you think?" N cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake. Pawniards usually had the ability Defiant, although there were some cases of them having Inner Focus or Pressure.

"Zeke! Scratch while his guard is down!" Zeke scratched purrloin, dealing catastrophic damage. Purrloin fell backwards, unconscious.

**Ha! Take that! That'll teach you not to mess with her ever again! She's mine, you hear me? MINE!** N chuckled, which only infuriated Zeke more.

"I never expected pokemon to say such things..." N trailed off, deep in thought. Cheren rudely interrupted his thinking by suddenly speaking.

"I don't know about you, but _I'm _going to the Pokemon Center to meet up with Bianca." He spoke in a pompous tone of voice that implied that if everyone else had any sense, they'd follow him to the Center. Touya nodded to N and Touko before leaving.

"Is he always like that?" N wondered.

"Who, Cheren? I just met him today, but he has been a bit prickly all day. This is the day he started his journey, so you'd think he'd be in a better mood." Touko looked contemplative.

"Maybe that _is_ his version of a good mood." She added an afterthought in, frowning slightly. N shuddered at the thought of having to put up with Cheren for an extended period of time.

"Why are you on your journey?" N asked curiously. Touko hesitated a split second before answering.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you that it's a bit of a family tradition to go on a journey to see the world once we've reached a certain age, but that's beside the point. I want to use this as an opportunity to be free. This is the only chance of freedom I have, so I'm not wasting it. When I return, I'll be expected to take over the _family business_, and there's no escaping that. Even if I could, I wouldn't because if I didn't do it, then my little sister would be forced into it. I don't want that life for her. She couldn't handle it. You?" What interested N about her speech was that it was calculated logically and her emotions didn't appear to have any influence over that decision. N's emotions would have played a major role in making that kind of decision. N's respect for the girl increased slightly.

"As long as pokemon are confined in pokeballs, they will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for pokemon, because they're my friends." N stated his dream and goal to Touko. She thought about what he said for a moment, before giving her opinion on the matter.

"N, I hate to tell you this, but perfection is an ideal that is impossible to achieve. Believe me, I know from experience." N was shocked by her words. No ideal was impossible!

"All ideals can be achieved, including perfection. I know that I'm just a naive idealist, but believe me when I say that my ideals will become the truth." Touko looked at N, shocked. Her eyes were wide with terror and she becan hyperventilating. She collapsed to the ground with a thud. Zeke glared up at N.

**Great going, genius. You just quoted something her brother said, word for word. I suppose that it isn't your fault that she's having a nervous breakdown because of something _you_ said, so I won't kill you this time. Now help me bring her to the Center so she can have the breakdown indoors where there are people that can help. **Zeke's tone was deathly serious, so N scooped Touko up in his arms and carried her off to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

**Why doesn't anyone ever guess correctly? Am I that unpredictible? Does anyone want to guess why White's pawniard's nickname is Zeke? It will be explained eventually, but I want to see if anyone can figure it out.**


	6. Attention

"All ideals can be achieved, including perfection. I know that I'm just a naive idealist, but believe me when I say that my ideals will become the truth." White remembered hearing those exact words from her brother, Black.

Black Symphonia was the exact opposite of the ideal Symphonia. While the rest of the Symphonias, White included, believed solely in the truth, Black supported strong ideals that he fought for vehemently. But that was why everyone loved Black. They loved how he had a shining vision for the future that would benefit everyone in Unova. They loved his fresh views on things. Everyone wanted Black to be King. Black was the one who should have been next in line for the throne. But then that pokemon came and...

White started panicing as she remembered what happened. Every time she remembered it, she went into a mental shutdown. This time was no different. As White collapsed to the ground, she saw N watching her with horror. Then it all went black.

* * *

When White woke up, she was in a hospital room. N, Ciana, and Zeke were fast asleep at her bedside. Absently she noticed how fluffy his hair was. How does hair even get that fluffy anyways? On a whim, White started playing with his hair. It really _was_ fluffy.

N stirred and White reluctantly let go of his hair. She hoped he didn't notice that she was playing with it. That would be awkward.

"What were you doing with my hair?" White blushed and shifted uncomfortably in the hospital bed.

"I found your hair interesting and started playing with it," White responded truthfully. She hated lying about her true identity and had resolved before her journey began to tell as much of the truth as she could. If there was one thing White hated, it was lying, but she understood that for truth to be valued, lies had to exist.

N looked angry by her words, so White felt ashamed of herself. If she had fluffy hair like that, she probably wouldn't like it if people tried to play with her hair either.

"I'm sorry. Your hair was so fluffy, I couldn't resist." N looked at her strangely.

"So you are telling me that my hair color had absolutely nothing to do with it?" White looked blankly at N.

"I'm colorblind. Why would your hair color have anything to do with it?" It was N's turn to blush this time.

"My hair's green and I often get unwanted attention because of it," N explained quietly. It must be really annoying to have something that conspicuous as your hair color. I felt a twinge of sympathy. Being a princess also attracts much more attention than I'd like. Nobody really paid much attention to me until after Black died. Black and Mei got most of the attention, Black because he was going to be King, and Mei because White's mother doted on her and because Mei always tried to be the center of attention. Mei would most likely turn out to be a singer or actress or something like that. It was just the kind of thing she liked.

"I can understand not wanting to attract attention..." White muttered under her breath. It _was_ the reason she traveled under an assumed name, after all.

"Where are you going next on your journey?" N asked suddenly. What did this have to do with anything?

"I'm challenging the gyms. Why?" N looked a little bit excited, but mostly he looked a bit anxious.

"I am also challenging the gyms and since it appears that we are both traveling in the same direction, would you like to travel with me?" White thought about it for a minute. Traveling with someone would probably make her time on the road more interesting. White decided that she would be fine with N traveling with her as long as Ciana and Zeke were also fine with it. She told N her decision and N wokeCiana and Zeke up to ask their permission. Ciana bobbed up and down in assent while Zeke made a slashing motion over his neck.

"Warning noted," N muttered almost inaudibly, but White still caught it. If White were to hazard a guess, she would say that Zeke threatened N not to harm her in any way. But that probably meant that Zeke said yes.

"Are we ready to leave for Striaton?" N looked startled.

"Are you sure you're okay?" White waved his concern off flippantly.

"I've had panic attacks before and I'll have them again. Let's go!" I grabbed my stuff and jumped off the bed. I marched out of the Pokemon Center while N tailed behind me.

I waited for him to catch up with me and we headed off towards Route Two. I had the feeling that this was the start of a new adventure.

* * *

**I love fluff. It makes the world a much better place. Where would we be without fluff. What did y'all think about my rather _fluffy_ scene? Review!**


	7. Trio

The journey to Striaton was uneventful and was filled with a companionable silence between Touko and N. Touko, N reflected, was rather odd at times. She was definitely hiding something, and N wanted to get to the bottom of it. Striaton was a relatively small city, but it was definitely bigger than Accumula was. The sheer size of the city was bigger than any city N had ever been to before, and he was getting disoriented by the noise. Touko, on the other hand, looked unperturbed.

"How can you stand it?" N asked. Maybe he could salvage some of his sanity from her response.

"Stand what?" Or maybe not.

"This! The crowds! The noise! Everything!" N gestured at the city vaguely.

"Oh. Well, when I was little and wanted to hide, I would go outside and lose myself in the crowd. I found it amusing that once I was a part of it, I was no different than anyone else and nobody gave me a second glance. Although once my mother found out, I wasn't allowed outside anymore." A response that once again, generated more questions than answers. Touko was definitely a mystery.

"I think I can see the gym! Come on!" Touko ran off towards a giant building, leaving N to push through the crowd to catch up. She was already there, waiting for N by the time he finally made his way to the gym.

"You ready?" N nodded briefly and Touko pushed open the door and strode into the room.

Although Touko did nothing to announce her presence, all eyes were upon her as soon as she walked in. Three men approached her and began flirting. Touko shifted uncomfortably as they continued flirting. N decided to step in.

"Will you please refrain from flirting and tell us where we might find the gym leaders?" The trio found this funny.

"The gym leaders you ask?"

"But that's us of course! Might we have some challengers?"

"We are the Trio Leaders of Striaton!" Introduction made, they bowed and winked at Touko. N glared at them in hopes that they might take the hint and either leave or battle. They didn't.

"We challenge you to a gym battle. Do you accept?" The trio nodded. The green haired one stepped forwards and introduced himself.

"I am Cilan, and I will be your opponent. What is your name, challenger?"

"N." N replied curtly in a way that told Cilan that was all N was going to say to him before the battle. The redhead, Chili, was doing the same with Touko, and N learned that Touko's last name was White. The trainers moved onto two separate battlefields and simultaneously began their battles.

* * *

White looked over at N. She had just finished her battle, and now she was waiting on N's battle to finish. Eventually, Cilan's pansage collapsed, leaving N's purrloin victorious.

We present to you the Trio Badge!" Cilan, Chili, and Cress announced simultaneously. White had said things at the exact same time Black did, but saying the same thing at the same time got creepier the more people were added into it. White wondered if it was considered creepy if two people said the same thing at once.

N and White accepted their badges and walked out of the gym. There, they ran into Touya and Bianca.

"How could they! How dare they kick that poor little munna! I don't care if they were trying to get Dream Mist, butsurely there's some other way!" White cast a sharp look at Touya.

"Explain. Then I can beat them up." Touya shrugged.

"Bianca and I were doing an errand for a friend of Prof. Juniper to get some Dream Mist from the Dreamyard. When we got there, we saw some of those people from Team Plasma and a munna. The Team Plasma grunts started kicking the munna and demanded Dream Mist from it. They stated that they wanted the Dream Mist to manipulate people's hearts and trick them into releasing their pokemon. We then battled and after we battled, that guy who made the speech yesterday appeared. But I think it was an illusion because there were two of him at one point. The grunts said that he wasn't the Ghetsis that was trying to recruit followers or trick people with speeches but the Ghetsis after a plan went wrong who was out for blood. The grunts fled, not wanting to receive his wrath. Ghetsis vanished and was replaced with a musharna which confirms in my mind that it was an illusion. The musharna gave us some Dream Mist and we left." White narrowed her eyes. She had a bone to pick with Team Plasma now.

The one thing that White Symphonia _hated_ was deceit. And Team Plasma was full of it.

"I'll give them the benefit of the doubt next time I see them, but the second I see them do something like that, I will crush the entire organization under my boot."

"I think they have good intentions." White turned to N.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And I have a feeling that they will do more harm than good with their so-called _good intentions_." N looked hurt by her sharp remark, so White backtracked a little bit.

"Listen N, I know that you and Team Plasma share similar ideals, but ideals aren't everything. If it was you out there, wanting Dream Mist, you would have asked the munna nicely for Dream Mist instead of kicking it. Judging someone by their ideals is fine, but I like to judge people by the truth of their actions instead of the ideals behind them." N nodded.

"You say that, but what about redemption? You can't just judge somebody by everything they've done without giving them a chance to change."

"When I say actions, I mean past, present, and future actions. Would they redo everything if they had the chance? Or would they make the same mistakes over and over again?" N nodded.

"I think I see what you are getting at." White smiled.

"Always judge people by what they do rather than what they say." N grinned.

"And yet you keep on talking. I don't think I have anything to judge you by." White laughed. Talking with N was refreshing.

"Good point."

* * *

**I really shouldn't wait until the last minute to write these chapters.**


	8. Social

"So... Why are you releasing Purrloin again?" Touko asked, obviously curious.

"I do not approve of the idea of stealing pokemon away from their homes only to battle. I have an agreement with the pokemon that I work with that when I leave the area that their home is in, I let them go back to it." Touko took a moment to digest the information before asking her next question.

"Isn't it cruel to have them fight for you only for you to just toss them away like a discarded tool?"

"It might be if I didn't tell them about the arrangement before they joined me." Touko raised an eyebrow.

"So what you are telling me is that they fight for you, even knowing that they are nothing to you and will be left behind in the long run?" N glared.

"_They are not nothing to me_." N hissed out. Touko looked at him challengingly.

"If they mean so much to you, then why don't you keep them at your side?" Touko wouldn't understand even if N explained it to her. Which was good, because N didn't _want_ her to understand. If on the off chance Touko White were to understand how N pushed everyone he cared about as far away as he could, so he wouldn't have to watch them get hurt, then she would wonder when she would be pushed away. She would begin to gradually distance herself from N, slowly getting farther and farther away from him with each passing day. And that was the last thing that N wanted, for reasons he refused to think about.

"You probably wouldn't understand it." N muttered darkly.

"You said _probably_, which means that you think there is an improbable chance that I will understand perfectly, but don't want me to understand for some reason or another." Brilliant. She had to figure out the truth on her own.

"Exactly."

"Tell me."

"I refuse." Touko pouted and when N gave her no response, she stopped pouting and switched tactics.

"Well sonce you won't tell me, I'll figure it out for myself." N smirked.

"Go ahead." Touko smirked back.

"Considering the fact that you have stated _repeatedly_ your love of pokemon and your hate of battling, I'd say that the reason you don't want to keep the same pokemon with you is that you don't want to see them get hurt. You can't bear to watch them get hurt and know that it's all your fault." N nodded. Why was it that Touko seemed to understand him perfectly, while at the same time remaining an enigma to N?

"Although I wonder if you treat people the same way... It wouldn't surprise me, given your obviously antisocial nature."

"I am _not_ antisocial!" Touko raised an eyebrow.

"And what makes you so sure about _that_?" N smirked.

"Social people have conversations. I'm having a conversation with you right now, aren't I?" Touko rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe that's your sole basis of evidence as to what counts as a social person."

"Would _you_ classify yourself as a social person?" _Because you're obviously more social than I am_ went unsaid.

"No." Touko replied with a certainty that startled N.

"Why would you think that? You seem social to me."

"Yes, _I know_. You seem to believe that having a conversation is the only requirement for being classified as a social person."

"So what do you think counts as being a social person?"

"To be social, you need social grace. Social grace implies not letting the person you're talking to know exactly how much you hate them."

"Well I have no idea exactly how much you hate me, so I'm fairly sure you have social grace and are therefore social." Touko grinned.

"Why would I hate you? You're the only one who can provide me with an intelligent conversation."

Before the conversation could continue, another conversation picked up near Touko and N. Touko brought her finger up to her lips and moved closer to where the conversation was.

"A little brat like you doesn't _deserve_ to have pokemon!"

"Surrender your pokemon to be used properly by Team Plasma!""" N's blood ran cold. He remembered what Touko said about Team Plasma, and had no doubt that she would burn it to the ground to return the stolen pokemon back to the child.

N placed a hand on Touko's shoulder hopefully to hold her back. She looked at him hotly.

"Please... Give Patrat back..." A small girl whimpered.

"N. Let me go. You do _not_ want to get caught in the crossfire between me and those scum." Touko hissed out at N. Her eyes, usually the purest shade of blue, seemed to burn with the intensity of her anger. N wondered what she would think if she found out that he was their King. N decided to see how dangerous Touko's rage was. On the grunts, of course. It was a necessary sacrifice to discover how much of a threat she was to the organization.

_The hottest of flames are blue_. N mused to himself distractedly as he released his grip on Touko's shoulder.

Touko rose up from her hiding place and strode up to where the grunts were. Her demeanor had shifted and her aura radiated pure power. When she spoke, her voice had lowered an octave and screamed out danger.

"Let. The pokemon. Go."

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Yay! And I think conversations between N and White are just so much fun! That was a major downside to the games, that there were no actual idealogical arguements. Oh well.**


	9. The Mystery of Touko White

**Another chapter! Yay!**

* * *

"Let. The pokemon. Go." White's voice sounded intimidating even to her own ears, so it was no surprise when the Plasma Grunts started running. She started to follow them, while N looked uncertain about what he wanted to do.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, N." N looked relieved and grateful at this.

"I can see Nacrene from here. I'll meet you there." N frowned.

"Can't I just wait for you here?" White shook her head.

"I wouldn't be able to find this place again. I get lost easily in places like this." White didn't wait for N to reply and ran after the Plasma Grunts before they disappeared from sight. By the time White was done with them, they would rather jump into the deepest part of Hell than meet her again.

* * *

"Did you see their faces? They looked like they'd rather go to hell than see you again." Touya remarked. To most, Touya seemed to be the stoic type, but White knew for a fact that he had a good sense of humor.

"Yeah. That'll teach them not to mess with us." Cheren remarked.

"And it taught _us_ to never, under any circumstances get on Touko's bad side." Cheren paled at Touya's remark and quickly stepped away from the group and initiated a conversation with Bianca.

Once they were out of earshot, Touya began talking to White again.

"Just curious, what was your brother's name?" White had an answer prepared in case anybody asked about the names of her siblings. Black would be Hilbert and Mei would be Rosa.

"Hilbert. You really look a lot like he did, you know."

"When did he die?"

"When we were twelve."

"You still think about him, don't you? You cared for him a lot, didn't you, White?"

"Yeah. I did. Still do, actually." Then what Touya said sank in.

"Wait... How did you-" Touya cut her off.

"Know? When I was little, people always commented on how, except for my eye color, I was identical to your brother. After he died, people stopped commenting. But you told me that I looked like your dead brother, who just so happened to die at the same time Black did. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret." White sighed.

"Was I that obvious?" Touya raised an eyebrow.

"Anyone with a brain would have it figured out after a couple of days. I don't think subtlety is your strong suit." White sighed.

"It isn't. But if you're so smart, then why hasn't N figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out yet?" N's voice popped out from nowhere. White jumped. N had startled her.

"You have probably realized that Touko is hiding something by now. Right?" N nodded. Was Touya going to tell?

"I already told Touko her secret is safe with me, so you're going to have to figure it out yourself or get her to tell you. Don't worry, she isn't good at keeping secrets, but I'll give you a word of advice. Stop overthinking it." White breathed a sigh of relief as Touya left and walked to the Pokemon Center. He hadn't given it away, after all.

"Tell me." Okay, Touya hadn't given everything away, but he HAD set a determined N onto her.

"No."

"Why not?" N sent the dreaded lillipup eyes at her. White refused to give in, however.

"It's none of your business."

"Then why did you tell Touya?"

"I didn't. He figured it out for himself." N growled in frustration before switching to a different tactic.

"You know, hiding things and keeping secrets from your friends is the same thing as lying. Are you a liar, Touko?"

White looked into N's eyes while trying to hold back tears.

She could tell N, but the thought of what happened to Prince Ruby of Hoenn stopped her. Until then, none of the royal families of any of the regions travelled under aliases. But then, days after Price Ruby's journey began, he was found dead. White's mother had chosen to travel to Hoenn instead of Unova and was almost taken off of her journey because of that, but nobody could find her and feared the worst. Eighty days later, a memorial service was created for unfortunate Sapphire Symphonia, whose body was never found. Sapphire actually went to the memorial service and asked in the middle of it what the big deal was. It turned out that Sapphire was travelling under the assumed name May Maple for safety purposes. Ever since then, it became the norm for royalty to go on their journeys under an assumed name.

Blue Indigo was Leaf Green, Platina Berlitz went by Dawn Hikari, and Hibiki Heart was still on his journey, so White had no idea what he went by.

"I would never lie to you about anything except this. Please... Please let me keep this one secret. But I promise you N, I will not lie to you about anything except this." White's voice had taken on a desperate edge.

"You are a puzzle that I will solve, Touko White. I won't ask you anymore, but I will figure your secret out eventually. And when I do figure it out, I'll keep your secret safe." White smiled. At least she could trust N to keep her secret.

"I won't tell you it, N, but not because I don't trust you. I want to see if you can find out the mystery of Touko White."


	10. Test

**I'M SORRY! I really didn't mean to miss an update. But I have a super-secret plan that will make you forgive me by Saturday.**

* * *

N and Touko discussed their plan at the Pokemon Center. They agreed that it wouldn't be fair to have prior knowledge of the Gym Leader's strategy, so they would go into the gym on their own. After all, what was the point of a test if you saw it in advance and prepared specifically for the questions? None at all.

N would go first this time, then Touko would go. N had caught a couple of pokemon at Pinwheel Forest, so he was good to go. Touko wanted to do a little bit of training before challenging the Gym, so she was fine with waiting.

As soon as N entered Nacrene Museum, a tour guide came and swept him up into a tour of the museum. N tried to explain that he was trying to get to the part of the Gym where you battled, but the tour guide explained that all challengers did the tour. Resignedly, N went through the tour. The dragon exhibits were undoubtedly important, so N paid close attention to those, but there were others that N paid almost no attention to because they were definitely useless, like the Symphonia exhibit. In N's opinion, the Symphonias were a pathetic excuse for royalty, but that could just be his Harmonia heritage speaking. While the Symphonias were descendants of the elder brother who saught out truth, the Harmonias were descendants of the younger brother. When the twin brothers began their fight, the great dragon that created Unova split itself into twin dragons as well. They were equals, yet opposite. Yin and yang.

N took a passing glance at the picture of White Symphonia on display and internally sneered. N doubted that she would lead the region well. Unfortunately, she would probably rule better than her mother had and her sister would, were she to be placed on the throne. Queen Sapphire did contests and was much more interested in them than Unova. Mei would be an absolute disaster as Queen.

But even _Touko_ would be a better Queen than White ever would. Although to be fair, Touko would probably be a better Queen than, well, everyone.

She might even be a good Queen of Team Plasma, if N could convince her to join...

Where did that come from? Before N could think more on the matter, the tour ended and N went into the Gym. It was fairly easy, actually, especially since N had a Timburr with him. It was plain that Lenora was more of a scholar than a trainer. Even Lenora recognized it. N figured that she'd hand her Leadership over to someone else soon, perhaps in the next two years or sooner.

As N left the museum, he ran straight into Touko. Grinning, he showed his new Gym Badge to her.

"I'm one step closer to my dream!" As soon as N became Champion, Team Plasma could rise and ensure that pokemon would never be forced to battle again. Ghetsis also said that the Symphonias were unfit to rule in the new, perfect world and someone else would have to do it. N was fairly sure that by 'someone else,' Ghetsis meant N, but N didn't ask for further details. Ghetsis tended to think that violence was always the answer, and those views were beginning to rub off on Team Plasma. N was working hard to change that, though. Currently, about half of Team Plasma were pokemon-loving pacifists, while the other half was the Team Plasma that Touko saw.

"And what is your dream? What do you want to do?" N decided he wouldn't tell her about Team Plasma yet. If Touko could have her secrets, N would keep Team Plasma a secret until he could convince her they weren't evil.

"I... want to see things no one can see. The truths of pokemon inside pokeballs. The ideals of how a trainer should be. And a future where pokemon have become perfect... Do you feel the same?" Touko contemplated his answer for a moment before replying.

"Yes and no. I want to see things everyone sees and see something more nobody sees. The truths of what trainers are. The ideals pokemon possess. And I see many futures but wish to create one where happiness can be shared in people and pokemon." A good answer, so similar and yet so different to N's own views.

"That so? I think my friends and I should test you to see if you can see this future, too." N tossed out Pidove and the battle began. Touko passed N's test, leaving N utterly defeated.

"I cannot see the future yet... The world is still to be determined..." Touko smiled.

"Your dream can only happen under the right circumstances, since perfection is the ideal second most difficult to achieve. Are you strong enough to bring about perfection, N?" No, he wasn't. Try as he might, N didn't think he had the strength needed to attain perfection.

"Right now, my friends and I aren't strong enough to save all pokemon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that would change the world. So I need power... Power enough to make anyone agree with me."

"I don't think that even the best mathematician in the universe could even write out that equation, much less solve it. I really do hope that you gain the power to unite the hearts of pokemon together and lead them towards your ideal."

"**Didn't she say something similar to her brother?**" N's eyes widened in surprise. Zeke never spoke around N unless it was absolutely necessary. Ciana didn't say much most of the time, either.

"_Yes, yes she did. Maybe you should take this as a sign that he can be trusted._"

"**Bah. I still don't like him.**" To be honest, Zeke was the only pokemon N had ever met that didn't like him.

"_Only because he reminds you of Bla- I mean Hilbert._" What was Ciana about to say before she caught herself? N didn't know.

"**You're crazy, Ciana. I don't know what you mean. The two aren't even remotely similar. And even if they were, N is not worthy of Zekrom like _he_ was.**"

"_And that's where you're wrong, for now. I think N could also be worthy hero of Zekrom. Like it or not, Unova needs a hero. And N's the best candidate we have._"

"**I hate it when you're right. The only Symphonia even remotely capable of being a hero is White, and she'd be a Hero of Truth. Unova needs a new Hero of Ideals to lead its citizens by or it will fall to corruption. Maybe N will pass the test.**" Test? N didn't know about any sort of test. Maybe there was more going on than he originally suspected. In that case, he'd test them right back.

"Now I know what power I need. Zekrom! The legendary pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to become that hero-and you and I will be friends!"

With that, N walked off, leaving a very confused Touko behind in his wake.

* * *

**I've taken the cannon mythology and added my own little twists to it, which will be fully explained eventually. And yes, N _still_ hasn't figured it out.**


	11. Dragon Skull

**And after the _incredibly long wait_ (a whole TWO days), I am publishing another chapter to make up for the fact that I missed an update. Speaking of missing updates, school will be starting soon and I won't be able to handle three stories with regular updates. I have a poll up on my profile for which of my stories I should keep updating, so if you want updates during the school year from The Symphonia Princess, then VOTE!**

* * *

_What was that about?_ White wondered as she entered the museum. As she was given the customary tour, she rolled her eyes as she passed the Symphonia exhibit. It was hard enough to travel through Unova unrecognized WITHOUT exhibits with a large picture of her displayed for all the world to see talking about her going on her journey and encouraging people to keep an eye out for her. White was lucky that only one person had figured it out.

But then, it was only a matter of time before others would figure it out, too. If one person had already figured it out within a week, then there was no telling how many others would.

White briefly wondered how long it would take for N to figure it out. She was slightly surprised that he hadn't already. He struck her as being a bit of a genius. But as Touya said, N was probably overthinking it.

"And this is the Light Stone, generously donated to the museum by the Symphonias!" The tour guide's voice broke through White's musings. The Light Stone was white; that was the only way to describe it. It was pure white, untainted by any other colors. But it was so much more than just white. It seemed to be burning, turning everything around it a shade lighter. It was beautiful.

"What's it for?" White asked, unable to keep the awe out of her voice.

"No one really knows. But it looks pretty." The tour guide said with a shrug.

"And this is the end of the tour! Feel free to go beyond these doors and challenge the gym!"

White went past the doors to find... a library. Best. Gym. Ever. White barely contained her excitement as she scanned the shelves for books she hadn't read before.

She saw one book that she had never heard of and removed it from the shelf. Or rather, she _tried_ to remove it. The book remained on the shelf while the entire shelf moved backwards, revealing a staircase leading downwards. White followed the staircase to find a woman waiting at the bottom in an arena.

"Welcome! The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora! Well then, challenger, I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokémon you've so lovingly raised!" White smiled and began the battle.

It was a tougher battle than her previous gym battle against Chili, and White was grateful for the extra training she had done beforehand. Eventually, White came out on top and Lenora awarded her the Basic Badge.

White was just about to leave the arena and browse the library a little more when Lenora's husband, Hawes burst in.

"Deeear! Dear! Come quickly! Team Plasma is threatening to steal some bones!" Lenora gasped.

"What? What's going on?! Touko, you come, too!" She cried, and quickly exited the arena with Hawes right behind her.

Touko figured that the library could wait and exited the arena as well. In her haste leaving the library, she ran past a school girl, who was talking to the man who gave her a fresh water at the foot of the gym.

"Did you hear it? Strange people came charging through the museum..."

"Those thugs sure are bold... It's almost as if they believe they are doing the right thing." White internally scoffed. You'd have to be seriously brainwashed to believe that.

White finally reached Lenora, who was yelling at the Team Plasma grunts.

"Now you wait! Enough fooling around!" In full fury, the woman was intimidating, which was probably how she became a gym leader in the first place.

"So you've come, Gym Leader. We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of pokemon liberation! To show you we're serious, we'll steal it right before your eyes! Well then, here's our smokescreen!"

"Plasma!" The grunts cheered as the smokescreen clouded visibility. When the smoke cleared, both the grunts and the skull of the massive Dragonite skeleton were gone.

"What's going on?" Lenora wondered as she exited her museum to search for the Dragon Skull.

"Oh! Oh! We have to go after them! Lenora loves that skull..." Hayes cried out. White left the museum to search for the grunts.

She found Lenora looking around in front of the museum. A man approached Lenora and asked how she was doing. She seemed pleasantly surprised by his appearance, as it seemed he only visited Nacrene occasionally.

"Touko! This is Burgh. He may not look like it, but he's Castelia City's Gym Leader!"

"Touko White. Nice to meet you. What are you doing away from Castelia?" Burgh looked somewhat dazed.

"...Eh? Just looking for a change of pace. Seems hectic or something around here. What's up?"

"What's up?! Someone just walked away with an exhibit that's _what's up_!" Burgh took an involuntary step backwards.

"Oh, hi, Touko! What's everybody doing here?" White spun around to see Cheren and Bianca. Cheren seemed to sense the mood and asked, "Touko, is there some kind of problem?"

After the situation was explained to them, they agreed to help search, and White and Burgh went to search in Pinwheel Forest.


	12. Lost

**Wow, I'm getting bad at updating on Fridays. Although, to be fair, there was no way I could have possibly updated yesterday.**

**IMPORTANT!- VOTE NOW ON MY PROFILE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! MY POLL CLOSES AUGUST 26TH AND IF YOU DIDN'T VOTE AND TSP LOSES, THEN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN!**

* * *

White was lost. Completely and utterly lost. She blamed Burgh, to be honest. He, the Gym Leader _who actually knew his way around__ the forest_, should have been the one to take the route where it was easy to get lost. Instead, he just _had_ to insist that White take the one that went through the forest, saying that there was no way she could possibly get lost since it was just a single path.

He was wrong. White got lost. On her own. In the middle of a large forest. With dangerous criminals on the loose.

White figured that it wasn't exactly possible for her to get more lost than she already was. Maybe if she were to just walk in a random direction she could find Team Plasma, follow them to the forest exit, then get the Dragon Skull. That could work.

White started walking only to trip over something. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Cottonee. It was severely injured, as well. It was a grass type, so maybe it would heal if she took it somewhere sunny. That would be difficult, considering how shady the forest was. White scooped it up in her arms and decided to take it with her and hope that she could find a sunny spot for it. Maybe being lost wasn't so bad if she could help this little guy.

After continuing for a while she saw a Plasma Grunt with the Dragon Skull. Huh. It actually worked. Who knew?

White tailed the Grunt until they came into a clearing. White decided that now was as good a time as any to make an entrance.

The Cottonee in her arms suddenly started struggling in her arms, trying to get into a better position for absorbing sunlight. White smiled inwardly as she saw the wounds it had begin instantaneously healing.

"That skull does not belong to you." The Grunt spun around to face her and then scoffed.

"A pursuer? Ah ha ha. A kid like you- beat some of us?" White took out a pokeball and sent out Ciana. The battle commenced, with the end result being a thoroughly beaten grunt.

"Fine. Take your stupid skull." The grunt handed over the skull. He smiled sadly, as if to mourn his loss.

"So the dream our king had- the dream we had- won't come true..." It hit White at that moment that while Team Plasma's truths were really messed up, it was founded on good ideals. Team Plasma was founded with the intention of helping pokemon. White felt that simple fact ring true inside of her. Now that she thought about it, the main reason she hated Team Plasma so much was because of how far they had strayed from their professed ideals. Team Plasma's ideals reminded White of something Black would have come up with.

White's musings were interrupted by a strange man entering the clearing who addressed the Grunt and asked how he was holding up.

"Gorm of the Seven Sages! I'm mortified that this skull, which we went to so much trouble to obtain, was stolen from us so easily." White lifted an eyebrow and spoke up in her defense.

"I don't believe it counts as stealing if you are merely trying to return a stolen item back to it's rightful owner, Sage Gorm."

"And you would be, Miss..." Gorm let the statement hang so that White would respond.

"Touko White. May I inquire something, Sage?"

"It depends upon the nature of your inquiry."

"Team Plasma works for ideals, correct?" Gorm nodded, although he looked unsure where this was going.

"Well it appears to me that while Team Plasma has noble ideals, they seem to have corrupted. Why have you, with your noble intentions, stooped to petty thievery?" Gorm smiled ruefully.

"Not everyone can have as noble a heart as our king. But alas, it is true. Team Plasma has been corrupted." White nodded in acceptance.

"Then I will burn away the falsehood like a white flame, leaving the remainder scorched blacker than it had ever been before in its ideal form."

"A passage from The Book of Tao. Impressive." White decided to change the subject before Gorm could enquire how she knew it.

"Will you get into trouble for losing the Dragon Skull?" Gorm must have noticed the abrupt shift, but chose not to comment on it.

"It's not important. We can afford to abandon the Dragon Skull. According to the results of our research, this is not the legendary pokemon for which Team Plasma is looking. It is completely unrelated."

White smiled. She genuinely didn't like it when people got in trouble because of her. What kind of future queen would she be if she did that sort of stuff deliberately?

"Well, at the rate we're going at, I am sure that we will meet again, Sage Gorm. I hope that our next meeting will be under favorable circumstances." By favorable, of course White meant that they wouldn't have to fight.

Sage Gorm left with the Grunt in tow and was completely out of sight by the time Burgh burst in.

* * *

It wasn't often that somebody appeared to Gorm to exude an aura of nobility. To be precise, exactly two people had done it. His King, N, and Touko White. The girl was an enigma. There was no doubt about it. She was interesting enough that Gorm decided to get the Shadow Triad to do a background check on her.

The funny thing was, after they were summoned, they informed him that N was also running a check on a traveling companion of the same name. They would deliver the results to him after they reported to their king.

The strange girl was actually worthy enough of their king to travel with him. Curiouser and curiouser...


	13. Corona and Zephyr

**This is your last chance to vote, if you haven't already! Oh, and I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I had a really bad case of writer's block.**

* * *

It was when White was at the very edge of Pinwheel Forest that she remembered the Cottonee in her arms. She set it back down only for it to jump back into her arms.

"So you want to go with me?" Cottonee bounced up and down in affirmation. White took out a pokeball and held it out. Cottonee nudged it open and went inside without any sort of struggle. White sent it back out and tried thinking of a good nickname for her. Unfortunately, she didn't exactly like any of them, so by the time White met up with N, she was completely out of ideas.

"Hey N, could you help me figure out a nickname? All the ones I've suggested have been rejected." N looked at her strangely.

"What? What is it?"

"For somebody who happens to be colorblind, you are very good at finding shiny pokemon."

"Oh. I didn't realize. What color is she?"

"Gold."

"I know just what to name her, then. I don't think this one will be rejected like the others." White smiled as she thought about it.

"Johto has a beautiful golden tree that is said to have been blessed by Ho-Oh. The whereabouts of this tree are unknown, but trainers that have a close bond with their trainers find one occasionally. Gold Heart managed to find five of these leaves and wove it into a crown for his pokemon. So I shall call you Corona, which means crown. Okay?" Corona seemed to like her new name and bounced happily.

"She's glad you chose a nickname with actual thought into it instead of the generic ones you were trying, like Fluffy." White nodded. That made sense.

"Wait, she told you about that?" N shook his head.

"No, but you just did." White pouted a little, something she had only done before with Black. She didn't know why, but she felt completely at ease at N, a feeling she hadn't had in years.

* * *

Touko and N stood at the base of Skyarrow Bridge.

"It's huge. I've seen pictures, but those don't quite justify the sheer size." Touko gasped.

"Do you think we'll see any Ducklett or Swanna?" Touko asked.

"Ducklett and Swanna nest on Driftveil and Marvelous Bridge. It is highly unlikely that we'll see any fly past." Touko looked a little disappointed.

As they continued their conversation, Touko got out an empty pokeball and began tossing it up in the air, throwing it higher and higher.

A dark blur was streaking through the air. Touko kept on tossing the pokeball up, oblivious. The pokeball hit the blur and caught it. N and Touko raced to catch it before it hit the ground.

"I wonder what I caught." Touko commented and opened the pokeball. A badly injured Ducklett came out. A bright pink Ducklett. If N hadn't seen what happened, he doubted that he would have believed it.

"See N, I told you I'd see a Ducklett. I think I can see Castelia City from here. Let's take him to the pokemon center and decide what to do from there." Touko sent it back inside the pokeball and together they rushed to the Pokemon Center.

After the Ducklett was healed, Touko brought it out again.

"**Where am I? What's going on?**"

"We found you over the bridge and saw that you were injured so we took you here so you could heal." N responded.

"What happened, anyways?" Touko asked.

"**The other Ducklett and Swanna didn't like me and drove me off.**"

"Did they live on a bridge?"

"**Yes but not the one you found me on.**"

"N, unlike you, I do not speak pokemon. What happened?"

"He was a part of the flock on Marvelous Bridge, but they drove him off." White gasped.

"He flew all the way to Skyarrow Bridge in that condition?" N nodded.

"Would you like to come with me? I promise I won't do anything like that to you."

"**Do you really mean it?**"

"He wants to know if you really mean it."

"I mean it."

"**I would be honored to assist you on your travels, my lady.**" Touko couldn't understand what he said, but got the general meaning behind it.

"May I call you Zephyr?" Zephyr nodded in the bird's equivalent of a nod.

"Well then, welcome to our team!"


End file.
